


Customer Service Smile

by strawberrylace



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-20 01:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18982816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrylace/pseuds/strawberrylace
Summary: Of all the restaurants in all of Oberlin, Steve Rogers just had to walk into the one that Bucky was working at.Based on the tumblr AU "I’m working part-time at a fast food joint and holy fuck, you and your friends just came to order stuff and oh no I have this huge fat crush on you because you’re always so nice to everyone and to me, I hope you don’t notice the fear in my Customer Service Smile™."





	Customer Service Smile

**Author's Note:**

> So it's not a fast food joint, but a restaurant in my version of this AU. Hope you all enjoy!

The dinnertime rush had just begun at Connie's and Bucky was busier than ever. It was a last minute shift that he had to cover. Normally, he would've minded having to come into work on such short notice, but word on the street was that the customers tipped much heavier on Saturdays and Bucky wasn't opposed to more money. He certainly needed it for college. 

"Bucky, you're on for table 12," said Peggy, shuffling the menus in her hands. 

Bucky looked over at the family of four that just sat down. The mother and father were dressed well and the kids appeared to be between the ages of 8 and 10, which was a tolerable age range for him. He'd been waiting tables at Connie's for six months and already, he had developed a knack for being able to tell which table was good. It was all in appearances. The more relaxed a family looked, the easier they were to cater to them. This particular family radiated a certain easy going energy that could handle his brand of customer service. He smoothed out his white button down shirt, checked his black pants and shoes for any stains, and took a deep breath. He relaxed his face, practicing his customer service smile. Not too smirky, but not too forced. Once he had it down, he was ready to go. 

"Good evening!" Bucky greeted the family, pouring each one their water. "My name is Bucky and I'll be taking care of you this evening. What can I get you started?" 

Of course, this sort of customer service wasn't something that Bucky learned overnight. It took him a while to get the hang of it. But luckily, his best friend Peggy was there to help him with the ropes, show him how to be more presentable and fake it really well. Within a couple of weeks, Bucky was a natural. With every family or group he waited on, Peggy was out there in the back watching him and smiling proudly, seeing how far he had come. While Peggy was sitting more people down, Bucky weaved his way through waiting and bringing out food for everyone. They were constantly on their feet as the dinner rush progressed through the night. As the night grew on, the crowds got quieter and the restaurant got less chaotic. Bucky and Peggy took a moment to relish the calmness they had not seen all night. 

"You weren't kidding," said Bucky, leaning against the wal, away from the guests. He had just gotten finished cleaning up a table for a group of eight. "Everybody came out to Connie's tonight." 

"Only the best Italian in Oberlin!" Peggy giggled. "Hey, have you studied for AP Bio yet? I swear nothing Mr. Coulson says makes any sense. I'm gonna bomb that test." 

"Ugh, don't remind me. I'm going over to Clint's house tomorrow to study. Is anyone in our class ready for it?" 

"The only people who are ready are Tony and Bruce. I mean, Steve might be too, but who knows."

Bucky smirked at the mention of Steve's name but deep down, the name made him nervous. It was no secret that Bucky had a massive crush on Steve Rogers. He was handsome, popular, athletic, and one of the nicest guys. He was the total package. He was always nice to Bucky, which made him weak in the knees. He felt like a complete mess being around him, which was why he avoided him as much as he could, even in AP Bio.

"Bucky, you really should talk to him," Peggy sighed. "I mean, you can't hide from him every time you see him." 

"Why not?" Bucky scoffed. "I'll have you know that with each moment I can avoid him, it prevents me from making a fool of myself! Not to mention, it's been two weeks since I've embarrassed myself in front of him. That's a new record for me!" 

"Stop being a such a chicken, Barnes," Peggy rolled her eyes. Just then, they heard a thud from around the corner. Peggy looked out to see and winced at what she saw. "Oh crap, looks like Quail is struggling over there with Table 7." 

Table 7 seated a family of three, which included an adorable 15 month old who enjoyed playing with their food more than eating it. Spaghetti was all over the table and it was Bucky to the rescue to help one of the newer waiters, Peter Quail, clean up. After helping Quail, Bucky made his way back to look for Peggy. When he found her, he stopped dead in his tracks. From a good distance, he could see Peggy was showing Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Natasha Romanav to their seats. Of all of the restaurants in all of Oberlin, Steve Rogers just had to walk into the one that Bucky worked at. During his shift, nonetheless. This was just his luck. 

"Well tonight is your lucky night!" Peggy chirped from behind, just as he was making his way towards the front of the restaurant. "You're on for Table 3. And a table of three, how convenient!" 

"Uh, yeah, about that," Bucky stammered. "You think Pepper might be able to take this one? I'm just not sure how I am with teenagers." 

"Pepper is already waiting on a family, as is Quail." Peggy was not blind to see what Bucky was trying to do. "Barnes, you can't avoid him forever! This was bound to happen at some point. Just take a deep breath and go out there. What's the worst that could happen?" 

"Everything." 

Peggy rolled her eyes. "Just go! I gotta take care of this family." 

"Fine," Bucky grumbled. He took two deep breaths, smoothed his shirt out, checked for stains, and walked carefully over to the table.

Bucky had nothing to be afraid, he kept telling himself. Steve was nice. There was no way he would be rude to wait staff. But he was with his friends and people can be different when they're with their friends. When he got to their table, they appeared to be having a nice conversation. They also were dressed much nicer than normal, with Sam and Steve wearing dark button down shirts and black pants. Natasha was wearing a long blue dress with her hair done up and makeup that was caked on. From what he was able to gather from their conversation, they must have come back from Natasha's dance recital and came here to celebrate. The three of them stopped talking and turned to Bucky when they saw him approach their table. 

"Hi," Bucky greeted nervously, grinning his customer service smile a bit too wide. His hands were a bit shaky as he poured each of them a glass of water, careful not to spill anything as he set each glass down. "I'm Bucky and I'll be taking care of you this evening. What can I get for you?"

"Bucky Barnes, you work here?" Sam asked, his eyes almost popping out. "Holy shit, who else from our class works here? I could've sworn I saw Pepper carrying some stuffed pasta dishes just now." 

"Good to see you Bucky!" Steve greeted. "What kind of lemonade do you have?" 

"Good to see you too," Bucky replied shyly. 

Steve cocked his head slightly. "I'm sorry?" 

"Oh I'm sorry!" Bucky's cheeks were turning red. He hoped Sam and Natasha didn't notice. "We have regular, pink, and raspberry lemonade." 

"You're fine! I'll have a raspberry lemonade, please!" 

"Can I get a Cherry Coke?"Natasha asked. 

"Of course!" Bucky's customer service smile was back as he turned to Sam. "And for you?" 

"I will have a root beer, please," Sam replied. 

Bucky wrote down the drink orders furiously in his pad. "Did we still need time to order food or are you guys ready?" 

The three friends looked at one another, almost with hesitation before Steve spoke up, "We still need a few moments. Thank you!" 

"I'll come back with your drinks then in a bit!" 

As he turned to leave, he tried not to think about what Steve and his friends were thinking. There was no shame in serving his peers, but when it came to serving Steve Rogers, all bets were off. All of that smiling was hurting his cheeks and was starting to worry that they could sense his fear. He wanted to confide with Peggy but she was nowhere to be found. Silently cursing himself, he tried to stay calm as he went to get Steve and his friends their drinks.

The rest of the night ended up going a lot better than expected. Steve and his friends were polite and understanding as he waited on them. Bucky had a couple of flubs but nothing that was so glaringly noticeable. He noticed that every time he came over to their table, Steve's eyes would suddenly light up. Bucky took this as being polite, not paying too much mind to it so that he can focus. 

"Here's your check," said Bucky, setting it down on the table. "Let me know when you guys are ready!" 

"Thanks Bucky. You've been really great this evening!" Natasha complimented. 

"I have?" Bucky squeaked out. It was the most natural he'd felt since they got here. 

"Yeah, how come you never said anything about working here before?" Sam asked. "We should be coming here more often instead of the Olive Garden!" 

"Olive Garden? Sam, you really have no taste!" Natasha teased. 

"How can you say no to their bread sticks?" Sam retorted. 

"We got this from here," said Steve with a wink, sliding the check closer to him while Natasha and Sam continued to argue about Olive Garden.

Bucky smiled sheepishly back at Steve, trying not to think of any unpure thoughts. A couple of minutes later, he came back to their table to collect the check. After depositing the money in the cash register, he returned with their change promptly their table and bid them all a good night. Just as he was about to find Peggy, he was being called by Pepper to help out with cleaning up the table she just waited on. He surveyed the overall mess and knew it was going to be a doozy. Well, he figured that if he could handle waiting on his crush, he could now do anything. 

After cleaning with Pepper, Bucky walked back over to find that Steve, Sam, and Natasha had gone. They left a very nice tip on the table, more than they should've tipped, but he was grateful for their generosity nonetheless. As he was wiping down the table, he spotted a black wallet on the seat where Steve was sitting. He double checked to make sure it was his. He hoped he could still catch Steve in the parking lot. Right when he was about to head outside, Steve came running back in, out of breath, and nearly colliding with Bucky. 

"Bucky!" Steve gasped, taking a moment to fully compose himself. "Boy am I glad to see you!"

"You are?" Bucky asked, dropping his customer service facade. 

"Yeah, I came back in because I was hoping that I'd find my wallet in here. I left it on my seat after we paid the bill and was wondering if you saw it."

"I did." Bucky quietly handed it back to Steve. "I was about to run out in the parking lot myself to try to find you." 

"Thanks Bucky! I still can't believe you work here though. Sam and I were just talking about how great you were to us. I mean, Natasha knew Peggy was here but not you!" 

"Oh, it's not much. It's a job, helps pay for college so what can I say?" 

"But you probably have to be 'on' all the time, you know, have that customer service smile and the voice, I don't think I could do that. But you seem to be a natural at it!" 

Bucky blushed. The fact that Steve bought into the waiter persona was astonishing, given with how terrified he had been all the whole while. But it somehow worked. 

"I was actually going to give you this," said Steve, handing Bucky a small piece of paper. "But I didn't think it was the right time for me to give it to you while you were working." 

Bucky unfolded the piece of paper. He couldn't believe it. Steve Rogers had given him his number. 

"Give me a call if you're free," said Steve. 

Right before Steve turned to leave, Bucky flashed him his best customer service smile.


End file.
